At that moment, I felt as if I'd been plunged into icy water. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

The cafe manager pointed at the small red flower pinned to my shirt. "Didn't you just rush in from outside a moment ago? I might not be good with faces, but I remember that red flower on your collar. It's really eye-catching."

Agitated, I shouted, "You're lying! I've been sitting at my computer the whole time. I never went anywhere!"

The police officer chuckled. "Jade, stop arguing. That flashy little red flower is exactly where you hid your cheating device."

As he spoke, he took out a pair of scissors and cut the flower off. He ripped it open, revealing a tiny electronic device hidden inside.

My eyes widened in utter shock.

In my past life, an identical device had been found in my clothes as well. The sight of it brought me straight back into that past moment.

I screamed in terror, "That isn't mine!"

At the same time, Lily cried out, "Jade, isn't that the thing?"

Sean looked at me with a mix of disappointment and frustration. "Jade, I can't believe you'd do something like this."

Watching their reactions, I felt as though all the strength had been drained from my body. "So, you both saw me in the exam hall too?"

The two of them nodded.

My vision went dark. All I could hear was Sean's bleak, despairing voice by my ear, saying, "Jade, the best thing you can do now is come clean. Confess and try to get a lighter sentence, okay? As for your parents, we'll take good care of them. You don't need to worry."

When I woke up again, I was already in an interrogation room at the police station.

The investigators pulled up surveillance footage from the exam hall. On the screen, it clearly showed me rushing into the exam room at the very last minute on both days of the exam.

After finding my seat and sitting down, I kept turning my head, even pressing my ear against the little red flower. And each time I did, I immediately started writing furiously.

Once, when an invigilator stood beside me for several minutes, I froze, not writing a single word. Only after he walked away did I tilt my head again toward the red flower.

Anyone watching would inevitably suspect the person on screen of cheating.

One of the investigators tossed the electronic device onto the table and said sternly, "Jade Cromwell, this is what you used to cheat. Just state the truth!"

I gulped, forcing myself to stay calm. "I only have one thing to state. From start to end, I never once stepped into the exam hall today. As for where this video came from, or why the person in it looks like me, I honestly have no idea."

As long as I insisted that I wasn't present at the scene, then even if the device had been found on me, it couldn't be definitively used as evidence of the crime.

The investigator laughed. "That's how you want to play, huh? Then take a look at this."

He handed me two test reports. One was a fingerprint analysis from the exam papers. The other was a saliva DNA test from a water bottle. Both reports showed that the final result was a 100% match to me.

I stared at the two reports, desperately trying to find a flaw.

The next second, the interrogation room door opened. Another investigator walked in, leading a frail-looking man behind him.

"It was her. She was my buyer," he said, pointing at me. Then, he turned to the officer. "Officer, I've already confessed. Does that mean I can get leniency?"

I had never seen this man before, nor had I ever had any contact with him.

Before I could speak, the investigator slammed a stack of documents onto the table in front of me. "Jade, your accomplice has already confessed. These are your chat logs and transaction records. Take a good look!"

My hands trembled as I flipped through the papers. They showed me communicating in detail via WhatsApp with the man, discussing the time, location, payment, and method. The final screenshot was a bank transfer record, showing a transfer of the agreed-upon amount from an account under my name, shortly before the exam.

My breathing grew heavier.

Witnesses. Physical evidence. Proceeds of the crime… They had formed a perfect chain of evidence.

In other words, at this point, even without my confession, there was more than enough to convict me.

I replayed the entire process over and over in my mind, but I couldn't find a single flaw. Once again, I was trapped in a dead end.

In this life and the last, who was it that determined to nail me to a pillar of shame and put me to death?

The knock came again, and the door opened from the outside. My parents' voice slipped through the crack. "Officer, please. Let us see Jade. She must've been framed. Our daughter would never do something like this. If you won't let us see her, we'll hurt ourselves right here!"

The officer handling the case sighed. "Jade, come out for a moment."

With my hands cuffed, two officers held me on either side and escorted me out of the interrogation room.

"Jade… Jade…" My parents called my name from a distance.

I looked at Mom's disheveled hair and Dad's bloodshot eyes. A sharp ache spread through my chest.

They had always said that as educators, upkeeping a neat and presentable appearance was important. So, they never went out without looking put together. This was the first time I had ever seen them this broken.

They stared at me with urgency. "Jade, did you do it?"

I shook my head firmly. "No."

The moment I said that, they dropped to their knees. "Officer, there must be some mistake. Our daughter would never cheat.

"Jade scored a near-perfect score on every mock exam in her senior year. She was already granted early admission to a top university. The college entrance exam was just a formality for her. Why would she buy answers from someone and cheat?"

Behind my parents, Lily and Sean also pleaded. "Officer, please investigate this thoroughly. Don't ruin a good student's future!"

The officer looked troubled. "What you're saying may be true, but our investigations rely on evidence."

Commotion broke out outside the police station. Suddenly, a crowd had flooded in and stormed into the lobby.

"Officer, we're parents of graduating seniors. We heard there's a cheating criminal in Southport City, so we came to demand her strict punishment!"

"This is outrageous. Cheating on such a major exam. Is that fair to our kids who have studied so hard for so many years? I demand that her parents be held responsible too. Arrest them all. Death penalty!"

In just moments, the verbal abuse turned on my parents. Their faces twisted in pain, but they still tried to defend me. "Our Jade isn't that kind of person. Please believe her. We're begging you."

"Bah! We only trust the police. You're just a family of cheaters. What credibility do you have?"

"How are people like you fit to be teachers? You're poisoning the youth! I'm going to report you to the education board."

"Shitty parents like you need to be exposed. You deserve the entire nation's criticism."

I could practically see the same helplessness and despair from my past life, when they were attacked by everyone.

Suddenly, a glass bottle came flying straight at me. "Scumbag! Cheater! Rot in hell!"

Dad lunged forward instinctively, throwing his body in front of me. The bottle smashed hard against his head, blood spilling from it instantly.

Only then did the police react, rushing out to restore order. Facing the furious parents, they spoke. "We've already collected sufficient evidence. Rest assured, we'll give everyone an answer soon."

In my past life, just days later, once the chain of evidence was finalized, I was sent to prison and publicly announced nationwide. My parents didn't dare step outside due to the unprecedented wave of cyberbullying.

In the end, the mother of a student who had jumped to her death after failing the exam set my parents' house on fire. They burned alive inside.

When I learned how my parents died, I couldn't breathe. A heart attack killed me on the spot.

Scenes from my past life flashed through my mind. Then, that little red flower suddenly froze in my thoughts. How could I have missed such a detail?

I shouted desperately, "There's something wrong with the evidence chain. I know who framed me!"